Chapter 17
Outskirts of Castle Warg, Last Moon of 281 A.C., Twenty days later…
The trek through the Wolfswood Trail went by without incident. Lord Glover, the Wull of Ice Harbor, Wyman and I carrying the bones of our fallen kin at the Tower of Joy or in my case, the bones of my father. The only notable stop was Ferngully Keep of House Fern, one of the five Wolfswood clans sworn to House Glover, whose lord hosted us in his small wooden keep with a hearty meal of venison stew, cooked mushrooms and bread washed down by black beer. I used that time to introduce and ingratiate myself with the Wolfswood clansmen, who traditionally had good relations with House Seastark since they traded their pelts and other trade goods through Wolfsport. All five clans had large families of at least five children, so they all had at least one son attending the trade expedition along with uncles and cousins, making them the Freys of the North in terms of proportion of members compared to the rest of the houses.
After a nice respite from camping in the woods, we left Ferngully Keep and made our way up through Sea Dragon Point. I quietly put out the word to the smallfolk that House Seastark was looking to buy seagrease at a few coppers above the current price. This was still dirt cheap for me but to the smallfolk it'd be considered a high price, which I'm hoping will incentivize them to start harvesting more seagrease from the beaches.
In the final days of the year 281 A.C., we came within eyesight of both the forty-foot-high light gray walls of Wolfsport as we marched west past one of the few agriculturally productive regions of the peninsula. To the south in the distance, I could see Castle Warg perched on a massive hill overlooking the city. The dirt path we were marching on reached a fork where the straight path went straight to the eastern gate of the city while the branching off path went south towards the castle one league or three miles south of the city. The levies, the other lords' men-at-arms, and my small caravan of Southron artisans continued straight west toward the eastern or Main Gate of the city while the lords, House Seastark men-at-arms, and Lucos the Painter headed south.
As rode closer I saw Hugo's childhood home, a single eighty-foot dark gray stone wall surrounded a castle that would be considered massive on Earth but was only a third the size of Winterfell. Four-and-ten guard turrets lined the crenelated wall with the main gate of the castle being similar to Winterfell's main gate two large crenelated bulwarks and an arched gate with a drawbridge. Tall, rounded towers made of the same stone with pointy, slanted roofs poked out over the walls from the inner keep, great hall and other towers and buildings. Much like Winterfell, the castle was built surrounding an ancient Heart Tree and its one-acre sacred grove but with the unique twist of being built on the remains of the seat of the Warg Kings of old. This can be seen at parts of the wall, where black stone could be seen at the bottom parts of the wall, marking the ancient history of the castle.
We were let in through the gates with haste when the Seastark banners were spotted, entering a small courtyard that was flanked by the barracks and stables, sectioned off from the inner keep and great hall. The further into Castle Warg you went, the further up the hill you went, with the crest of the hill sitting not the inner keep, but the massive ancient Heart Tree of the Warg Kings, within the one acre of Godswood surrounded by the castle.
At the entrance to the inner part of the castle stood the rest of House Seastark. My mother, Brienne Seastark, the dowager Lady Seastark stood in her mid-thirties with her Glover red hair and green eyes next to my two siblings. Edric, my younger brother of two-and-ten, red hair from mother but had father's grey-blue eyes, and Breyna, six namedays old with the typical dark brown hair of Starks but with mother's green eyes. Next to them was Wyman's three-and-ten nameday old sister Yara and their ten nameday old younger brother Jonnel but their mother Arsa Bole of the Boles clan wasn't present because she had died giving birth years ago. Wyman, his siblings and myself had the typical Seastark look of brown hair and blueish-gray eyes.
Flanking them on the left was Commander Donnel of the castle garrison, a man I had many memories of instructing Wyman and I in sword fighting, and Castellan Martyn, the son of prominent merchant family in Wolfsport who has served Castle Warg for over twenty years.
To their right was Maester Armond, the capable healer and instructor, whose lessons on everything from math, to house sigils, to history and more, filled Hugo's childhood. Next to him was Lady Elsa Slate, Wyman's blonde-haired, brown-eyed, wife-to-be, having arrived days earlier by ship. Many other notable servants like the stablemaster were also out both to greet the return of Lord Seastark and to prepare the guests for the wedding in three days' time, on the first day of the new year. My mother called out.
"My son, Lord Seastark, welcome home. Castle Warg is yours. And good to see you safe nephew!" She said with a sad smile as she greeted Wyman and I. As we approached closer with the bones of my father and uncle I could see the reaction of my family. I saw my mother's breath hitch when her eyes fell on the bones of her husband and fought to keep her composure. The younger siblings' many questions died when they saw their fathers' bones and they looked heartbroken, except for poor little Breyna. She was too young to quite grasp what happen to her father and uncle but still understood enough from everyone around her that something bad happened. My mother turned toward an elderly couple that were the heads of the servants and maids, well respected and trusted by our house for being smallfolk that served in Castle Warg for generations.
"Take the bones and have them ready to be interned in the family crypts tomorrow." She ordered and they bowed their heads before taking the bones from my cousin and I and carrying them inside carefully.
"Mother." "Aunt Brienne" My cousin and I greeted. "Thank you for holding down Castle Warg and Wolfsport while we were off fighting dragons." I say with a tired smile, still dealing with the conflicting emotions of the loss of my father an uncle and the happiness of seeing my mother, siblings, and cousins.
"And uncover wyldfire in the capital." Yara says with pride of her brother's achievement.
"And start feuds with the Karstarks." My younger brother, Edric says with a snort.
"And make inventions!" Jonnel says with a mischievous smile.
"And get betrothed, to not only a southroner, but a Lannisport Lannister. Honestly Hugo, reading the ravens from you was confusing enough before half the Westerlands and Riverlands started sending ravens about the trade fleet and now there's this trade company you've concocted." My mother says with exasperation. I look over and see the lords of the western shore dismounting their horses and having them be led to the stables. I nod to my mother and turn to address the guests, taking the role, that Lord Stark did when we were in Winterfell.
"My lords, welcome to Castle Warg, heart of Sea Dragon Point! I offer you to follow us into the great hall for bread and salt before having servants bring you to your quarters before tonight's welcoming dinner. The wedding between my cousin Wyman and Lady Elsa Slate will be in three days." I inform the guests and we make our way to the large great hall next to the rookery tower overlooking a small cliff over the sea, protecting the castle from any seaborn threats. The only area you could land soldiers is at the foot of the eighty-foot walls at the bottom of the hill. After giving bread and salt to the guests, they were led to their guest quarters in the guest keep, between the glass gardens and the inner keep. My cousin was regaling our time at war and the events after the war to both our siblings while I talked with my mother as we made our way to the large inner keep that had the House Seastark quarters.
"Great job expanding the quarry in Flatmire, mother, I saw its expansion on the way here." I said and she beamed. "Did you also set up a Wayfinders Guild in Wolfsport?" I asked.
"Aye, it's ready for you to train the workers Hugo, erm, Lord Seastark." She corrects herself and sighs. "It'll take some time for me to get use to calling you that." She says sadly.
"It's alright, mother. You can still call me Hugo when it's just family. I let Myrra call me Hugo." I say comfortingly. My mother smiles softly before scrunching her face in confusion.
"Myrra? As in your betrothed? You're calling each other by your given names?" My mother looks slightly alarmed. "Hugo, did you take her maidenhood? Is that's why you're marrying her?"
"What!? No! Why do people keep thinking that! First the Freys, then some Crownlanders and now you!" I say nonplussed.
"It's because it's uncommon for a betrothed couple to drop titles, and in the times, it's done, it's usually followed by a crossbow wedding." My mother explains, using the strange Westerosi version of the phrase shotgun wedding and I roll my eyes.
"I didn't take her maidenhood, trust me. Lord Lannister wouldn't agree to half the things we agreed to had I deflowered a Lannister, even a cadet branch." I respond as we enter in the inner keep, stepping on the large, blue carpet that led deeper into the keep. The walls lined with the trophies of various hunts, along with leviathan bones and walrus tusks. I hear Wyman talking about finding the wyldfire in the capital to the younger Seastarks.
"Be that as it may, it's still not a good look, Hugo and lords are quick with assumptions and rumors." My mother admonishes before smiling. "Now tell me about this swimming lioness you seduced!"
"I didn't seduce her, nor her me." I roll my eyes. "She certainly has the famous Lannister beauty…" I say with a wolfish grin and it's my mother's turn to roll her eyes. "…But she's also got a sharp mind for numbers, loves reading and painting…" I start to list the reasons for my betrothal both the personal reasons involving Myrra and the pragmatic reasons of the alliance with both Lannister houses as we walked deeper into the keep…
Later that night…
The sounds of words and laughter filled the great hall of the castle, created by lords and ladies clasping tankards of black beer or goblets of wine across six massive tables in front of my ironwood carved lord's throne, where I would hold court. A massive Seastark banner hung proudly behind it. The ladies of the western shore houses arrived days before us on ships to Wolfsport both to greet their returning husbands, fathers, sons, and nephews and to attend my cousin's wedding. I could see my lord uncles laughing uproariously at something Lord Mormont said, my mother talking with Lord Slate about the upcoming wedding, and the Wolfswood clan leaders talking amongst themselves as I made my way through the throngs of highborn. I spotted Wyman and Mikken Wull being cornered by their betroths and I was just barely close enough to hear the ladies' words.
"So…Lady Elsa and I heard you intended to visit the Wolfsport brothels before the wedding." I heard Lady Gilliane Norrey said with a sickly, sweet voice before my soon-to-be goodsister cut in.
"Oh, but I told Lady Norrey that that my dear Wyman would never do such a thing to me." She said while giving Wyman a knowing look. I chuckle as I hear him awkwardly sputter a denial. My cousin and Lady Elsa had known each other for years since my late uncle and Lord Slate were good friends from fostering together at Bear Island. They had talked for years about betrothing the two but never got around to it while Wyman and Elsa developed crushes on one another. I'm convinced that if I hadn't reincarnated here, the two still would have ended up marrying. Not for no good reason mind you, Wyman was a good honest man and Elsa was a sharp, strong-willed Northern woman, they were a good match.
I polished off the last of my tankard and went to refill at one of the nearby barrels when I overheard the hill clan heads of the Norreys and Harclays discussing future travel plans.
"Best be careful going through the eastern pass in a few months. It may be the end of spring but there's still ice on those peaks and the pass is harsh even in warmer seasons." I see the Harclay nod at the Norrey's words of caution.
As I refill my tankard, the mention of ice in warmer months tickled my slightly inebriated mind and as I take a sip, I vaguely recalled a method of insulating and transporting ice by wrapping it with furs and wood shavings. If I could transport ice to the Seven Kingdoms, I could make a killing. The only problem is Sea Dragon Point, while it got hilly in the forested interior, had no mountains, but the Northern Mountains where the hill clans lived had mountains that had ice even in summer. If I could convince the Wulls to start harvesting ice, I could work out some kind of deal to transport it.
I hold back a sigh and add it to the list of things to do before we leave for Lannisport. Getting ambergris to Wolfsport to start up a perfume business, working with my maester to see if we can make a kiln to make cement and concrete, and meeting with Horesso the Braavosi shipwright and my own local shipwrights about my plans for the Seven Kingdom's first clipper ship. This all on top of my normal duties as a lord overseeing not just a large castle and city, but a peninsula the size of a small European country, full of small villages of smallfolk that look to me as their lord.
I took another sip of black beer as I try push the laundry list of things to do out of my head and just enjoy the night…
Castle Warg, Eighth Moon 282 A.C., Eight months later…
I sat in my solar with the mid-morning light coming in from the windows, it still felt weird to call it that due to the many memories of this room being fathers solar. I was currently discussing the contents of a raven from Winterfell with my Castellan and Commander.
Ser Wylis completed his personal survey and reported that the total cost of repairs to Queenscrown to be a little over seven hundred gold dragons for both the exterior and interior. He further reported that island the tower stood on had just enough flat area for a small expansion if cleared of oak trees and that the undervault beneath the tower could be expanded for added storage space. He estimated that such expansions, if approved, could cost three to four hundred gold and that the expanded village and palisade would be another two hundred gold. Overall, the price was looking to be roughly nine hundred to three-and-ten hundred gold dragons, which was not terrible considering my initial estimates for the costs were around two thousand gold. Still not happy with having to dump all this money into the New Gift but didn't feel nearly as stressed out over paying due to my projects over the last eight moons. I was interrupted from discussing the expenses when Maester Armond walking in the door clutching something in his hand.
"My lord, I know you're about to leave for your wedding, but I wanted to report a breakthrough on your quickstone. After a broken kiln and six bad batches, I present you with this." The maester smiles extends his hand to show me a brick sized slab of crude concrete. A smile threatens to split my face as I grasp the concrete from him, inspecting the slab. It wasn't quite the quality I'd see back on Earth but it was still working concrete, and that's precisely what I needed to make any paved roads even remotely affordable. My ultimate goal was to use it to eventually turn the Wolfswood Trail into the Wolfswood Road, serving to better connect Wolfsport with the rest of the North, starting with the three miles between Castle Warg and Wolfsport.
"Fantastic! When do you think you'll have enough for road construction?" I ask my maester and he does some mental calculations. "Not until you return from your wedding at the earliest, my lord."
Martyn the Catsellan decides to put in his two cents. "While your quickstone will reduce the construction costs and time, roads are still an expensive investment, even for a lord of your wealth." He cautions and my smile lessens but doesn't fall.
"Aye. That is why we'll focus on just the one league between the castle and the city. When done, it'll give us a better idea of how much it'll cost in gold and time to pave each mile. We can always delay construction if need be." I respond to my Castellan, who accepted my answer with a nod.
"My lord, this quickstone could be used to cheaply construct small forts along the coasts of Sea Dragon Point to better defend against the Ironborn. If you build enough of them, our lands could be protected enough for you to shift a few ships further south without putting them at risk." Commander Donnel notes a potential martial use with a calculating expression.
I mull it over in my head. "Not a bad suggestion, commander, but the budget is stretched thin at the moment, so we will wait and see." I comment on his idea. It wasn't a bad idea, but I had too many other expenses at the moment.
"Now, if that'll be all, I have a ship to catch." I say, dismissing my advisors before leaving to make sure everything was packed and ready to go before, we departed with the other lords…
Later…
I walked with my family at the Wolfsport harbor, surrounded by a hive of activity of people and goods being placed on the six trade cogs that made up the Northern convoy. On the trade cogs was the new banner of the Sunset Trade Company, a field two thirds red, one blue, with a golden sun in the middle "setting" into lower blue third and a white eagle, golden lion and black direwolf above the sun. I saw Wolfswood clansmen board the ships with shadowcat pelts, Northern hill clansmen with Narwharl horns, walrus tusks and whalebone, Mormonts with their prized bear pelts, and Lord Dustin directing metals like iron and copper to be boarded among other houses and trade goods. We passed by two ships being loaded with sticky-stone, amber and a few dockworkers moving small wooden crates together or using a crane to hoist larger, heavier wooden crates. I see a dockworker carrying a smaller wooden crate pass try to rush us as he stumbles before catching his footing, almost dropping the crate.
"Oi, careful now! That crate has perfumes in it! Don't break it or you will be paying for them!" I saw the dockworker turn to look at me and paled.
"Many apologies milord! I'll be extra careful with this crate!" I dismiss him and he proceeds to carrying the crate at a slower pace toward the ship, suddenly aware of the value of the goods he's carrying as he shifts his arms to get a more secure grip.
I tell the rest of House Seastark to go ahead to the galley we were traveling to and from Lannisport in, the flagship of the Sunset Fleet, The Black Wolf, and that I would follow soon. I walked up and talked to Captain Morgan, who sadly did not have any rum.
"Captain Morgan, how has it been loading the ice blocks?" I asked the salty old captain that's sailed as far as the Free Cities.
"If I may be honest my lord, a pain. Only the smaller ones can be moved by multiple men and the larger ones need a crane." He gestures at the crane lowering a wooden crate lowering one onto the ship.
"Any problems?" I ascertain and the captain shakes his head. "So far, so good my lord. I'll keep you informed if anything happens." I nod my head and continue my walk to The Black Wolf confident in the new trade goods I was adding to the trade expedition being both securely boarded and making me a hefty profit.
I planned on introducing the perfumes and ice in Seaguard when we briefly stop by to meet up with the Riverland convoy led by Ser Jason Mallister. Then I'd show off some at my wedding when not only practically all the Westerlands in attendance by the royal family as well. The grand size and scale of the dual wedding was the perfect event to advertise my new trade goods to the realm at large, and that was not getting into how much I could make in the Summer Islands. I already had a Braavosi merchant buying the perfumes from me to sell back home in Braavos and was paying a high price so I knew I had quality perfumes.
I see besides all the activity the convoy was causing was the usually business of commerce in Wolfsport as merchant ships sailed in to and from the harbor, mostly Northern, but with a noticeable increase of Riverland and Westerland merchant ships in the last few months. A lone Braavosi ship with purple sails out of the harbor past a ship from the Westerlands sailing into the harbor. Wolfsport had trade with the Free Cities but it was small as few Essosi merchants were willing to make the long journey to Wolfsport and the ones who did were usually the ones not good enough to make it in Oldtown or Lannisport. Word reaching the Free Cities that Wolfsport was now a city didn't seem to change anything but mayhaps the perfume and ice will change that.
I make one final stop, meeting with the shipwrights of Wolfsport, Haresso of Braavos amongst them. I see the keel of my new clipper ship being assembled. It had taken time to design a schematic for the clipper and to present it to my shipwrights. While they were competent at their professions, they were very hesitant to work on a new ship, especially a ship design that had never been used before. It took a lot of debating about the hull and the rigging of the sails to convince them I wasn't ordering them to waste their time and resources on a flight of fancy. The proximity of the Wolfswood to the city meant materials such as timber and tar were never an issue but the fact, they've never worked on such a ship was causing delays. It was unfortunate it wouldn't be ready in time for the wedding or the trade expedition but I knew it was a long shot to get it done in time.
I board my flagship and soon enough the Northern convoy was sailing out of Wolfsport, six trade cogs with four galleys as escort. Other galleys transporting Northern highborn to and from the wedding joined the convoy. I watched the gray stone buildings and cobblestone streets of Wolfsport slowly grow smaller as we sailed out of the small bay at the tip of Sea Dragon Point. I noted with intense curiosity that a pod of spotted whales had followed close to my ship for some time now. Spotted whales was this world's name for orcas and were sometimes called the wolves of the sea for their pod hunting being akin to a wolfpack. The pod matched the pace of the flagship and continued to swim alongside us when Wyman came up to me.
"That pod is still following us! Strange, never seen spotted whales follow a ship this long." He says with mild curiosity at the pod and I shrug. "Neither have I." I say truthfully as the pod of spotted whales finally changes direction, swimming off to who knows where. We stand there a moment wondering about the spotted whales before deciding to head below deck.
That night I dreamt I was swimming in the dark, murky depths of the ocean at night with a pod of orcas…
One moon later… (Ninth moon, 282 A.C.)
It was just past noon when Casterly Rock came within sight, and longer still before Lannisport could be seen. The massive walled city, more than three times the size of Wolfsport, looked almost golden with the rays of the setting sun blanketing the city. Casterly Rock stood less than a mile away, carved out of a massive stone hill, looming over the city as Tywin does over the Westerlands.
"Is that Lannisport and Casterly Rock!?" My younger brother Edric runs up besides me and looks over the side of the ship to gaze upon the city.
"Aye. It is Edric." I say as the rest of my family approaches Wyman starts talking to his siblings and my brother while my mother and little sister came up to me.
"Oh, my little Hugo, seven-and-ten and a lord about to get married. I remember when I still held you in my arms when you were a babe." My mother comments while reminiscing about the past. Breyna pokes her head over the side of the ship to see the city.
"Where does the time go…" I whisper and my mother looks at me.
"You've changed Hugo…" My mother says and I snap my head to her. "…The war has changed you. A part of me hates that it changed the sweet little boy into a man, but with your father and uncles gone, you had no change but to grow up and become a lord." My mother says and I suppress a sigh of relief, knowing any changes in Hugo are being attributed to fighting in the war and not because his soul has merged with someone from a different reality.
"Cousin!" I turn to Wyman. "Are you excited to finally marry your swimming lioness?"
I smile ear to ear. "Of course I am, Wyman! I can finally get that big fat dowry!" I jape and he chuckles. "Truly, no other reason than the ten thousand gold dowry?" He asks with a grin, knowing the answer only to laugh uproariously when he hears my response. "Aye, there is one reason: her huge... tracts of land!" I say cupping my hands over my chest as if their breasts. My mother scolds me for being crass with a small smile.
"Well Lord Captain…" I change the subject by addressing my cousin with his new company title. "The first directors meeting of the Sunset Trade Company will happen the day after the wedding. How do you think the trade expedition will fair, truthfully?" I ask for his thoughts as Lannisport grew closer.
"I think it'll go well if our night in Seaguard is any indication, our blue amber was still in high demand, the perfumes sold better than expected and the ice created a stir." Wyman comments on the Riverlords reaction to our perfume and ice.
"Oh yes, I had practically half the ladies in the Riverlands asking me about either blue amber or the perfumes!" My mother comments.
The ladies were interested in the blue amber and perfume while the lords were keen on the fact I was now transporting ice. I already had the wealthier Riverlords like the Mallisters and Blackwoods making inquiries on purchasing ice and I expected to add a number of Westerlords once we show off the ice in Casterly Rock.
I know we're selling some here and that'll you'll be selling more in Oldtown and Sunspear but do make sure not to sell it all before you even get to the Summer Islands." I ask dryly to my cousin's amusement.
As the ship grew closer still to Lannisport, I smiled to myself. The only thought in my mind as I gaze upon the large city, was that I probably should have made more perfume.
A/N: This chapter we see some of Castle Warg, a bit of Wolfsport and skip ahead a bit to the Dual Wedding of Lannisport. We see the SI has been busy these past few months and the results are beginning to bare fruit. Next chapter is the wedding, directors meeting and the trade fleet sets off from Lannisport to the Summer Islands